The Afterlife Of The Dimensions
by MarBere123
Summary: What was happening in the Afterlife shortly before "The Dark Side Of Dimensions"... or something like that. Vaseshipping implied.


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**Hey! It's me again! So this fic in Spanish has a pun (that's the word?) as tittle, but I didn't know how to do it so that it is understood. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.****_I do not own YGO! DUEL MONSTERS_. **

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Just as Atem crossed the door, he felt a really known weight on him.

His body reacted almost instantly and returned the hug as he had always wanted to do since he regained his memories.

"Prince!" Mana cried, resting her head on his shoulder. "Finally... You're finally here! Do you know how much we wait?! I hope so, because I don't!"

Atem laughed. He didn't know how much he had missed his best friend's personality.

"I can guess... About 3000 years, maybe?" he replied.

"It took you too long!" scolded the dark-haired girl.

Atem would have wanted to continue the hug for a while longer, but someone soon took Mana by the collar of her clothes and lifted her easily. She kicked for a while complaining, however she gave up a few seconds later.

"Mana, stop harassing the Pharaoh!" Mahad ordered.

_Oh_. How familiar it felt when he saw that moment. No doubt, Atem had missed them more than he thought.

"Mahad, it's been a long time," he greeted with a sideways smile.

The best spellcaster of the court returned the gesture.

"Not only for me, your Majesty," he said and stepped aside.

Honestly, if Atem hadn't been preparing for that moment, it was certain that he would have started crying out of happiness in front of everyone.

His father, Aknamkanon.

The priest Seto.

His tutor, Shimon.

Aknadin.

Shada.

Karim.

Isis.

Mahad and Mana ...

Everyone. Absolutely everyone was there.

But... Where was exactly there?

He looked around. It was Egypt, somehow, but it didn't feel hot. Nor is the sand entering his eyes or the sun burning on his skin. It was bright, yes, but in an inexplicable way. A way that resembled something bright by itself rather than reflecting something else.

It felt... strange, he thought. It really seemed that he had returned 3000 years in the past. It really looked like he had returned home.

"My son," he listened.

A smile full of good emotions crossed his face and for a second, they both forgot the titles they'd had in life.

"Father!"

Atem didn't know when he did it, but when he opened his eyes, his arms were already around Aknamkanon's body and his cheeks were already bathing in tears.

Aknamkanon smiled at him only as a father could and returned the energetic gesture with a simpler one: placing his hands on his son's shoulders.

The priests, in turn, smiled delighted with the scene, but didn't wait long to come forward to greet.

"Good. Good. I think this is worth celebrating," Shimon said with one of his pleasant smiles.

Although he knew who he was, it still seemed odd to Atem to see Yugi's grandfather in him.

"Celebration?" asked the Prince of Egypt looking at everyone.

Mana smiled at him.

"We've all been waiting for you for 3000 years, Prince," she said.

"It's normal that we want to have a party in your honor," Mahad continued.

"I see..."

His gaze soon turned to the ground without knowing very well what to say next.

Mana gave him a slight push.

"What's going on? Don't you feel good?" she wanted to know.

The others present also waited for his response, probably as worried as she was.

For a second, just for one, all of Atem's memories swirled in both his brain and his heart. His body trembled and his hands clenched into fists.

He said it so low that everyone had to approach to listen.

"... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he clenched his teeth before inspiring to continue. "If only I could have defeated Bakura sooner... With my own power..."

So many people... So many lives like Mahad's had ended because of his lack of power like Pharaoh... He just couldn't—He didn't know how to say everything he really wanted to say.

Mana took one of his hands in hers, but it was Mahad who spoke.

"It wasn't your fault," Mahad declared severely.

Atem looked at him and unconsciously tightened his grip with Mana. She said nothing at the sudden pain. Her friend—Her best friend needed her.

"But if I had been a better Pharaoh—"

"I don't think you would have been a better one, Pharaoh," priest Seto interrupted.

"But I—"

"If we're looking for the ones to blame, I think I should be one of them, right?" Akamkanon said approaching his son and putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "It was under my reign that Kul Elna suffered and thanks to that it is that Bakura did what he did."

"And not just Aknamkanon," Aknadin added.

It was surprising to everyone that he accepted that fact so easily.

"We all did what we had to do," Mahad continued after a few seconds of silence. "And now we are all here."

Atem felt Mana squeeze his hand and looked at her. She smiled.

"We've all waited for you, Prince. Don't ruin it with that negativity."

Once again, Atem looked at each one. His heart —if it could still be said that way — beaten warmly when he saw the smiles that all his friends and family gave him.

He really wished that Yūgi and the others could accompany him at that moment.

He accepted the celebration without objection and let everyone get ahead.

Atem looked back. Of course, there was no door or anything to connect him with his friends in the modern world, but he hoped that somehow, his feelings would reach Yūgi and the others.

He wished they knew how happy he was.

"What are you waiting for, Prince?" Mana returned to his side and took him by the arm. "Come on!"

Atem nodded.

"You know?" he told her. "I'm not supposed to have any kind of tittle now, you can call me by my name."

Mana frowned.

"Your name?" she repeated and seemed to think about it. "Well... The prince is the prince, right?"

Huh ... Atem had the feeling of a _déjà vu_. "Well, it doesn't matter," he smiled amused at his friend's expression and they both continued walking towards the Afterlife's palace.

* * *

Time passed, somehow, or so Atem felt. Now he understood why Mana didn't know how many years had passed so far.

While there were days and nights in the Afterlife, it wasn't as if someone counted them or as if they had the same time as in the modern world.

It was very similar, but very different at the same time.

There was even a Nile River —or what it pretended to be— and, like when they were children, Atem agreed to the idea of enjoying Mana to swim for a while.

Also, since it didn't feel hot, it wasn't cold either. It was always the perfect time for everyone.

Although, said by Mahad, everything could vary depending on each one.

Probably, Mana wanted to feel warm to swim and that's why she felt warm; However, someone next to her may be feeling an icy blizzard. Everything. Absolutely everything depended on the person, what they wanted, or how they wanted it.

What led Atem to think.

Did he see them all the same as how he remembered them because he wanted to? Or had everyone died shortly after his sacrifice?

According to himself, he hadn't really been thinking about how to see them, but how much he wanted to see them.

Everything was simply confusing. He wanted to talk about it with someone, but he didn't want them to complicate their way of seeing things.

"Shoot," Mana suddenly said swimming towards him.

Atem tilted his head.

"Huh?"

"Ask what you want to ask," she continued, resting her hands on the edge of the river and urging herself to sit beside him.

The drops fell from her hair to her body and wet the floor she sat on, even reaching Atem.

She glowed somehow, he thought running out of words.

"Prince?"

"Huh?" Atem reacted

"What bothers you?" she urged sticking her wet shoulder against his.

"Why do you think something bothers me?" he wanted to know.

She pursed her lips to the side, emitting a slight «hm...» and bringing her index finger to the right side of her chin.

"Because until now, all you've done has been sitting there and wetting your feet. You haven't even asked me about my day."

"How was your day?"

"That doesn't matter now!"

Atem sighed exasperatedly when he learned that Mana wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted.

Looking towards the water of the river, he nodded.

"It's just that I've been wondering why everyone looks the same as when I left," he replied.

Mana blinked confused before laughing.

"What?" Atem asked unable to see the fun of the situation.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just that so far you think about that," she replied with a laugh before sighing and looking at nothing in complete silence.

Atem was confused.

"Mana?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"Well... I think it's because we want you to see us like this," she explained. "I mean, apart from Mahad, Pharaoh Aknamkanon and others, who died at that same age; there are others who simply want to see us like this and, as you remember us like that, that makes things easier."

"Huh...?"

"As Mahad will have told you, it all depends on what you want. You may now see me as when I was 16, but in my reflection I see a young girl of 20."

"Young?"

"Shut up!"

Both laughed a little to dissipate the tension, however they couldn't avoid the short silent time that formed afterwards.

Perching on implicit data, Atem looked back at Mana.

"That means you exceeded my age, doesn't it?" He wanted to know. "What happened to Egypt, then? How was your life?"

Mana smiled gracefully out of curiosity, but didn't respond instantly.

"It was... good," she said simply, not worrying about more details.

Which only increased the intrigue of the Prince.

"Good?" Atem repeated. "Only that? Didn't you get married or have a family?" she didn't answer, Atem's curiosity only increased with each word, unsure whether to mock or worry, without noticing that his friend's hands had gradually become fists and that her lips were clenching. "Did you even let someone to court you?"

"I tried, okay?!" she exploded. For some reason, that answer surprised Atem more than he supposed. "I tried! Day after day..." she brought her knees closer to her chest, her voice decorating with more despair. "I tried to fall in love. I tried to continue with my life beyond becoming a priestess..." she looked up at him and Atem felt his heart break at the sight of such a sad expression. "But how should—How could I be happy if neither my teacher nor my best friend were there to give me their blessing? How could I have had the happiness that none of you had? Tell me, how—?! "

Atem didn't let her continue. His arms surrounded her without caring about how he got wet. Mana was breathing hard, she had probably been keeping those words for so long that they had all left without self-restraint.

It took several seconds for Mana to calm down and return the gesture by hiding her head between his neck and his collarbone.

"You know?" she continued. "I don't remember how many times I wished I could see you again, or how many times I dreamed of the past, or how many times I thought about ending my own life..."

"Mana—"

"But I never tried anything," she interrupted. "I thought to myself that you guys wouldn't like me to do something like that," Mana separated her head from him without breaking the hug and looked Atem directly in the eye. "All I wanted was for you to recognize me..."

Without realizing it, Atem let Mana push him until he felt his back against the ground and her body on his. Her eyes showed so many different emotions and feelings that he couldn't identify a single one.

Had she suffered so much? What was the purpose of his sacrifice if not all the people in his kingdom could be happy afterwards?

"I don't know the reasons for Isis and the others to look the same in your eyes," she continued. "But mine are as clear as the water of this river," Mana stretched her arm against his until their hands were joined and slowly and gently raised Atem's hand so that it touched her warm cheek. Without noticing, Atem left it there even when his friend's hand fell on his chest. "He has to recognize me, I thought. He has to do it even if his memories fail him. He has to do it somehow."

Her wet body fell on his and her head stuck to his chest. Atem couldn't know who the pounding belonged to.

"I missed you and my mentor so much..." she said. "You don't know how much... You don't know..."

And then, Atem hugged her too. He didn't try to say anything, there were no words that could ease the sadness of the past. Certainly there were none, but...

"I didn't know how much I missed you all until I got here," he said without looking at her. "And now you know for sure that I won't leave, Mana. I will stay by your side no matter what."

"You promise?" she asked. "Do you promise you won't leave?"

Atem clenched his arms.

"I promise."

* * *

He was a liar.

He was a liar who lied without knowing.

"I have to go back. I have to help them," Atem said after learning that Yugi and the others needed help.

"I don't understand, my Pharaoh, what happens?" Mahad wanted to know.

Atem clenched his fists.

"I don't understand very well either, but just as there is the realm of shadows and the Afterlife, there are other alternate dimensions," he explained. "And one is threatening the life of my friends."

"It seems that they even want to put the Millennium puzzle together again," Isis added. She had lost her Millennium Necklace and, with it, the precision in her predictions, but she could still see—feel something.

"I have to go back and help my friends," Atem said.

Mahad and Isis shared a worried look.

"I'll be back," Atem promised. "This time I won't leave for another 3000 years."

"It is not us who you should say that, Pharaoh," Isis replied looking beyond his shoulders.

Trying to guess what the priestess was really saying, Atem turned on his heels only to meet Mana's heartbreaking gaze on him.

Her hands were shaking and her eyes were screaming, but instead of saying anything... something, she just turned around and ran away from where they were.

Atem stretched an arm, but the words simply did not come out of his mouth.

He felt someone putting a hand on his shoulder and looked at Mahad smiling at him.

"Talk to her," he suggested. "She's hurt, but she'll understand. She always understand."

Atem knew it. He knew that Mana always understood and that, because of that, it always hurt her.

He found her sitting in one of the gardens with her back against a palace wall. She looked at the sky without looking for something specific and was breathing with annoying tranquility.

Sighing, Atem walked to sit beside her and, for a moment, none said anything.

"I have to go," Atem announced looking at her without expecting to find her eyes.

"I know," she replied.

"I must do it."

"I'm not stopping you."

"But you want to do it."

"But I don't do it."

"Mana..."

"Prince..."

"Mana!" he raised his voice first, this time getting her to look at him.

"What?!"

"Stop behaving like this!"

"Like how?"

"As if you didn't care. As if it didn't hurt you," he took her hand. "Say what you want to say. I will listen to you."

"You're a liar."

"I know, I can't help it."

"I can not either."

"What?" he frowned.

"I am terrified that you will leave again. What if your soul gets trapped for another 3000 years? What will happen to us?"

"You are fine here—"

"You know that's not what I mean," she interrupted, squeezing the grip on his hand.

Atem sighed.

"I can't help it," he repeated. "If you knew Yūgi and the others, you would understand. I owe them so much that this would barely pay my debt."

"I know."

He looked at her confused. What did she know?

She sighed.

"I've also met them, a part of me, at least," she tried to explain and seeing that it wasn't effective, she continued. "Once in the battle against Zorc, to heal you, I gave you part of my _Ba_, remember?" Atem nodded. "That part stayed with you all these years... And even if it's vague, I have memories of when you traveled with your friends to the world of memories."

He remembered. Atem remembered that Mana had been the only one with Bobassa who had been able to see Yūgi within that world. Had it been thanks to her _Ba_? All this time, had he had a part of Mana inside him?

Unconsciously, Atem brought one of his hands over his chest.

"When you finally got to this place, I felt like—I felt like if I was complete again, Prince," she continued. "Not only did I miss you, but the part of me that you took a long time ago. I understand why you want to go to help them... They are good friends, after all, how can I argue against that undeniable fact? It's just... It scares me. It scares me that you won't come back again..."

With his heart echoing in his ears, Atem drew Mana into a hug. He didn't know, but all that time... All that time Mana had been with him, even if it was only a part of her, she had always accompanied him; even Mahad with his Dark Magician... Did he really deserve such good friends?

"I'll be back," he said, resting his chin on Mana's head. "It won't take longer than necessary, Mana. My soul is already here."

"I know."

"I don't want you to know that, I want you to know that I'm going to return... Definitely."

She remained silent for a few seconds.

"It won't be other 3000 years?"

"Not even one."

"Then do what you have to do fast."

"I will."

He broke the hug and got up. She followed him with her eyes.

"I'll be waiting."

He smiled, but didn't turn. He didn't have to, Mana knew him better than that.

"I know."


End file.
